Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 43
Nārada Instructs Prācīnabarhiṣat: The Purañjana Narrative Begins
City of Nine Gates
नारद उवाच इति तौ दम्पती तत्र समुद्य समयं मिथ: । तां प्रविश्य पुरीं राजन्मुमुदाते शतं समा: ॥ ४३ ॥
nārada uvāca iti tau dam-patī tatra samudya samayaṁ mithaḥ tāṁ praviśya purīṁ rājan mumudāte śataṁ samāḥ
Nārada berkata: Wahai Raja, demikianlah kedua suami isteri itu, saling menyokong dengan persefahaman, memasuki kota itu dan menikmati kehidupan selama seratus tahun.
One hundred years is significant in this connection because every human being is given the concession to live up to a hundred years. The span of life is different on different planets, according to the planet’s distance from the sun. In other words, one hundred years on this planet is different from one hundred years on another planet. Lord Brahmā lives for one hundred years according to time on the Brahmaloka planet, but one day of Brahmā is equal to millions of years on this planet. Similarly, the days on the heavenly planets are equal to six months on this planet. On every planet, however, the span of life for a human being is roughly one hundred years. According to the life spans on different planets, the standards of living also differ.
FAQs
This verse shows the couple entering the ‘city’ and enjoying for a long time—highlighting how the living being, after making agreements with material nature, becomes absorbed in prolonged sense enjoyment.
In Nārada’s allegory to the King, the ‘hundred years’ emphasizes extended absorption in worldly life, illustrating how time passes while one remains forgetful of the soul’s spiritual purpose.
It encourages self-audit: notice the ‘agreements’ you make with habits and desires, and consciously redirect time and energy toward sādhana—hearing, chanting, and devotional discipline—so life is not spent only in enjoyment.